Teen’s Awesome ‘I’m Gay’ Cake Could Be Bittersweet for Some Parents

Fifteen-year-old Laurel, or ellende-generes (get it?) as she's known on Tumblr, thought of a creative and delicious way to come out as gay to her parents. She baked them a cake, or a gayke, if you will, and left it on the counter next to a note that read:

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Good morning parents, I'm gay. I've wanted to tell you for a long time. I thought doing it this way would be a piece of cake. I hope you still love me. I mean, it's hard not to love someone who baked you a cake.

All my friends know and still love me. Your acceptance would be the icing on the cake. I hope you, much like this cake, are not in tiers.

I hope we can look back on this and say "boy, this one really takes the cake."

It gets batter.

Love, Laurel (sorry for so many puns)

First and foremost, never apologize for puns, and second of all, never apologize for who you are, gay or straight. (Not that she did that, just saying.)

Most parents (the good ones, anyway) encourage their kids to feel comfortable telling them anything; that they'll be loved no matter what; that it's better to call and ask for a ride home from a boozy party than get behind the wheel ... those kinds of things.

So when it comes time for my teen to really speak up, I hope that they'd feel like they could come to me and we could have an open conversation about what's going on.

This is by no means a criticism of Laurel's approach or of her parents', I'm just thinking out loud here, that if this was my daughter, behind all the joy of her revelation of who she is, would I feel a pang of guilt that she felt like she had to write me a letter instead of talking to me face to face? Would it make the otherwise happy occasion a bit bittersweet?

Who knows, but probably not. At the end of the day, I'd just be so thrilled she knows who she is, is proud of who she is, and isn't afraid to hide it, even if it took a cake to inform me of all those things.

And Laurel's story has a happy ending, too. After her parents saw the dessert and the note, her dad came in her room laughing and hugged her, and her mom saw it and cried of happiness.

What a great story -- bundt now I can't help but want some cake batter.

How would you feel if you received this 'gayke' from your teen? Happy? Relieved? What?